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Friday, February 12

Denise on Delia!




Following on from my previous post it has to be said that the result was not successful, to say the least. I added some polenta powder which made the kebabs too crunchy, I also added spices.....but far too many, a definate flop...
SO I decided to follow Delia's ingredients & method to the letter.
The result I must say was bland, very bland and far too moist...so I blitzed 2 slices of bread in the processer and added chilli, more masala and pepper. Result was lovely! I served with some creme freiche which I added lemon juice and pepper to....so the ammended recipe will read as such...
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Shami Kebabs Nesbitt style

225g minced lamb
1 chopped onion
225g tinned green lentils, drained weight
1 heaped tablespoon masala
1 teaspoon salt flakes
1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns, with a pestle and mortar
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 small egg, beaten
1-2 tablespoons groundnut or other flavourless oil
1 rounded tablespoon seasoned flour
2 blitzed slices of bread to make breadcrumbs

Method
Place the quartered onion in a mini-chopper and chop finely, then add half the lentils and switch on again till the lentils have become a purée – you will need to push them down a couple of times in the chopper as you go. Now combine the puréed lentils with the meat, the rest of the lentils, themasala, chill,i salt and crushed peppercorns.

Use a fork (or your hands) to mix everything well, then add the beaten egg an mix again. Now using your hands, form the mixture into 12 patties. To cook them heat 1 tablespoon or the oil in a large frying-pan and, when it’s hot, dip the patties into seasoned flour and fry them for 2-3 minutes on each side, adding more oil if necessary.Finish off in the oven or just miss the pan bit out and cook in oven.Serve as above, with some mango chutney on the side.
Green salad would be nice or a simple dip!

13 comments:

  1. Wow weee Denise,

    Any good recipes for Eton Mess?

    Happy Valentines

    TE

    XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

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  2. TE who are you? I only share my Eton Mess recipe with people I know! lol!

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  3. I find Delia a bit bland too, but her recipes are foolproof in that they always work - one can always add bits and pieces, as you have done.

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  4. I am glad you found a way to spice it up to your liking :-)

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  5. Grandad was a shef, an he duzzent like Delia. Mummy sez he moaned abowt her in the 70s (gosh my Mummy is OLD!) becos she always yewsd stuff in cans and reddy mayde things, an cos she always yewsd mixers an fansy tools that not menny peepol had then. He sed a proper shef noze how to do stuff from scratch. Mummy duzz cheets tho, sumtimes. Hehe.

    Personly I don't like Delia jus cos she sepports Norwich, hoo Gillingham fans noe as Tractor Eating Scum Hoo Mangle Their Worzles.

    HEHEHEHE!! :@D

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  6. The idea of planting daffodils for Chris is a great idea! I admire your cooking skills and I am absorbing a few ideas from different blogs, but sadly food is not something that excites me too much -- except fish 'n chips. My poor husband suffers from this deficiency in my skills, but I suspect he is probably healthier for it.

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  7. Weaver & Bob, I too am beginning to come round to the same opinion about Delia's recipes being bland and I so agree with Bob's Grandad...good chefs should use what is available.

    Cherrypie, yes spiced up but I have my own version which will contain beef and chilli! lol!

    Chris
    Believe me, food is exciting me at the moment and that is OK in itself but as the biking season approaches the matter of fitting into my leathers is at the back of my mind! lol!

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  8. Hi Denise,

    I would love your an Eton Mess recipe. Please share!!! At the moment i am feeling numb with the death of Lee McQueen. Eton Mess would cheer me up. I once had a terrible one at a hotel in Harrogate.

    Are you hens still laying well? They are producing well for Winter!!!

    Tilly Elizabeth
    x

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  9. Tilly, Nigella's is the best I have done, certainly the easiest and stuff available!

    Yes, hens are still laying well, infact just about to put them to bed! Thanks. Dx

    INGREDIENTS

    500g strawberries
    2 teaspoons caster or vanilla sugar
    2 teaspoons pomegranate juice
    500ml whipping cream
    4 x small meringue nests from a packet
    Serving Size : Serves 4



    1. Hull and chop the strawberries and put into a bowl. Add the sugar and pomegranate juice and leave to macerate while you whip the cream.
    2. Whip the cream in a large bowl until thick but still soft.
    3. Roughly crumble in 4 meringues nests – you will need chunks for texture, as well as a little fine dust.
    4. Take out a ladleful, or about 100g, of the chopped strawberries, and fold the meringued cream and rest of the fruit mixture together.
    5. Arrange on four serving plates or glasses, or in a mound, and top each one with some of the remaining macerated strawberries.


    This recipe uses bottled fresh pomegranate juice to encourage the strawberries to ooze out their fragrant summery juices. If you’re making this with out-of-season strawberries, then you stand a chance of using freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, in which case, sprinkle some seeds on top of this voluptuous mound of meringue and berryspiked cream.

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  10. Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wonderful thanx for this Denise. Wow Pomegranate, so inspiring.

    Love Come Dine With Me!! Who fanies taking part!!!! I give you 10 already Denise!!! Today they did a bird within a bird within a bird....lol lol!!!

    Tilly xxxx

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  11. Delia's complete cookery course is my household bible, despite all the numerous other chef/cook books lining my shelves, I come back to her time and time again - in fact the battered old thing is my second copy, the firat one I got about thirty years ago! But you are soooo right, she's okay at giving the basics, but you need to tweak most of her recipes to put a zing in them - and her preparation can be very laborious and puritanical - I usually find my own short cuts. Glad your recipe worked out well in the end.

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  12. Yes you got it in one Shrinky! I must look out for a basic cookery course book as it is often the basics we need to build on. Last night I was telling hubby I would love to go on a cookery course to understand cooking of different cuts of meat etc. Will look into it.

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  13. That looks really good. I'll have to see what other good recipes you have posted.

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Thank you for your comments, always nice to know somebody has taken the time to let me know what they think.